Written by Shea Roney | Photo by Nati Rosa Rodriguez
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by David and Austin of the Chicago-based band Copies.
Each partaking in various projects throughout the city, plays the game is the first release for this duo, secretly shared online in the dog days of summer via Beekeeper Tapes and Discs. As David’s guitar riffs begin to heat up like metal in a flame, and Austin’s ferocious drumming brands the skin, Copies’ chaotic melodies clot each track, bringing face to the natural and rather stunning relationship between pain and healing. The EP is loud, thrashing, and emotionally blending, as Copies stands their ground, in a rather dying world, as a defiant and exciting voice to be reckoned with.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Vermont/Chicago-based artist Hannah Frances.
Last month, Frances released her latest album, Nested in Tangles, a project rooted in sincere articulation as she unravels the various distinct knots that have become too tight around her. Highlighted throughout is her guitar work, tapping like bugs in a glass jar, gently caught, culminating curiosity towards the most minute details of her abilities. Although at times wild, playing to pattern shifts and divine accent points, France’s vocals are freeing, like the wisp of smoke from a candle just blown out, that make these songs feel nothing but natural. Following the release of 2024’s LP Keeper of the Shepard, Frances leans into more brash, unpredictable instrumentation, diving deeper into her avant folk voicings that fall into step amongst sharp jazz stylings, heavy distortion and pronounced sonic strain. But through it all, Nested in Tangles showcases an artist invigorated to try something new, taking the good with the bad, as those knots begin to loosen.
The theme of this playlist is Nested in Tangles inspiration / What Hannah was listening to when making the album.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Chicago-based artist Meredith Nesbitt of the project Shoulderbird.
There is a bit of a different mentality that sets in when it feels like you’re the first person awake in the whole city. It’s not based in any superiority, or personal pity for that matter. But rather some kind of inebriation caught between security and anticipation that only exists as the sun slowly clocks in for the day. Shoulderbird’s music resides in that anticipation, a habit to enjoy the stillness of your surroundings, yet eager to the possibilities the day may bring. Softserve and a joint, mannequins with an itch to scratch, Meredith’s writing feels empathetic to the simple and dreamy, yet still manages to put one sock on at a time before heading out. Each track’s rhythmic routine on 2025’s debut LP, Neighbors, lends itself to improvisation and melodic fixations, something Meredith’s unique deliverance brings out with such gentle pronunciations and dynamic subtlety. And in those moments, as the sun covers more ground, the smell of instant coffee beats out the fumes of a stove struggling to life, and the effort to soften the blow between silverware and porcelain to not wake your partner becomes exhausting, Shoulderbird’s music toys with this stillness, offering a way to take advantage of the world when it feels to have finally slowed down.
You may also recognize Meredith from touring with bands like hemlock, Burr Oak, Jackie Hayes, Hannah Frances, Minor Moon, Toddo and Astrachan.
About the playlist, Meredith shares;
My favorite way to hear music is live at shows, and I included in this playlist the songs of my friends, who I’m so lucky to get to hear in person. Mixed in are some classics that make me happy, and I’ve been turning to nostalgic comfort the last couple weeks in music. At the root all these songs are story songs and have come to me through moments I remember.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Atlanta-based artist Awsaf Halim of the project Hill View #73.
There’s an odd moment, a newfound perspective when you lay down on your bedroom floor for the first time in a while, that opens the room up to new angles and possibilities. You might catch yourself thinking of those dust bunnies that live under your dresser forming an awesome jangle pop band, or finally noticing the fraying rug that’s caught your weight in crumbs over the years. The music that Awsaf writes under Hill View #73 is a safe space to revel in the entitlement of growing pains, holding on to those last bits of fallback daydreams as you play into these newfound angles. Hill View’s trajectory as a project, going from their sincerely raw and melodically tangible debut, Songs I Wrote Skipping Classes to 2024’s lush and dynamic night time is the grace period, offers a standout collection of bedroom tunes and found audio, a treasure trove of joy, love, fear and anxieties, the trials of fatigue and forgiveness, as Awsaf fills these tunes with grace and a voice of confidence that knows you’re not going to get it right all the time.
About the playlist, Awsaf shares;
These are songs I’ve been listening to for the past month or so. I tend to listen to a lot of music when I’m driving long commutes to school because it helps my mind wander outside of daily monotonous thinking. I love these songs in particular because to me, they’re all mostly “rock” songs which secretly have awesome songwriting. I also like when music is repetitive and leaves long spaces intentionally. It probes my brain and makes my mind happy.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Chicago-based artist Morgan Powers.
Amongst natural progressions, Morgan’s music stirs ever so lightly, pumping blood from the heart to the limbs that have been still for so long. It’s in that grace period, the tingling rush of nerves and the movement still too numb to locate, where Morgan’s words become the most reflective, the most fulfilling in these stories of growing older. Leaning into light patterns, rich guitars and melodic intuition, sonically these tunes are gentle, yet still unpredictable, like watching a bug crawl across your arm. As its little legs barley tickle, it’s a moment that feels stuck in time, one of intimacy, curiosity and newfound discovery as you examine the bug’s very nature, cherishing this rare time together and honored that it chose you at all in this big old world. Morgan’s songwriter preserves this feeling of content, the candidness in admiring the simple and reflecting on what makes life so beautiful amongst all the mess.
About the playlist, Morgan shares;
i was thinking about when you’re at a party and it’s getting late in the night and things have sort of settled down, or settled in rather, no one is going anywhere soon. The lights are low, you’re having a wine probably. People have sort of spread out, clustered around the room, into the next, many conversations being held. the music ties everyone together though and even from the other room you know all these people you love are enjoying it in their own way too. There’s a warmth to all these songs, something optimistic. Many romantic, if only for it being nighttime.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by New Orleans-based artist Adam Richard.
With a handful of albums buried in the soil; to grow, to bloom, to die and to cycle over time, these stories stroll with a caution, careful not to step on the crumbling cracks of the sidewalk that have eroded over time. Not out of any superstition of breaking a back, but of the precedence it sets for an empathetic heart. Adam’s voice is haunting, yet undoubtedly sincere, bringing a perseverance to these corroded love songs and tall tales of remorse and pity that he performs so well. But even in these weighted moments, where Adam’s acoustic guitar begins to rust over and his stories have searched for their peace, the sonic shadows that once covered these tracks begin to chip away like old paint, as feelings of loss and longing become intertwined by faith and love; a comfort in the damage as we finally get to see what’s been underneath this whole time.
About the playlist, Adam shares;
Hugging big and ugly. Light-birds over the trees, flying through my window. Music beyond elusive language, sounds that feel true. This playlist is full of songs that feel delicate at the heart of things to me. Grateful to ugly hug, music is people.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Ottawa-based artist and cartoonist Hannah Judge of the project fanclubwallet.
With beaming soundscapes and gritty guitars that scratch like doodles, spilling over the pages and blending with anything they touch, fanclubwallet brings a big heart and a bit of rowdiness into full color with their steadily growing catalog of indie pop songs. Hannah’s songwriting revels in its natural cadence, like banter tossed back and forth with a friend, where the stories she tells are full of trust and encouragement to join in. But what fanclubwallet does so well is build up a space of their own, a secret hideout made to be a perfect fit. One where each bit of wall is prime real estate for the most epic personalization. One where it’s okay to store your chewed bubblegum under the furniture because who’s going to say no? One where it’s okay to leave your headphones tangled and your stereo on blast, as long as the tunes are right for this very moment.
About the playlist, Hannah shared;
This is a list of my favourite weird little songs, things that play in the back of my head, songs that might soundtrack a midnight snack on the kitchen floor. Just a little weird but amazing!
fanclubwallet has also shared their brand-new single “Know You Anymore”, the third taste test from their upcoming record Living While Dying. Listen here!
fanclubwallet is set to release their next record Living While Dying October 24th via Lauren Records. You can preorder the record now as well as on vinyl, CD and cassette.
Written by Shea Roney | Photo Courtesy of fanclubwallet
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Toronto-based artist Eva Link of the project Triples.
Originally formed as a duo with her younger sister Madeline Link (PACKS) on drums, Triples was a force, glimmering and carefree, singing rock songs that beamed with playful melodies and distortion that tangled up loose harmonies like a knot of twinkle lights. Their last full length was 2019’s Big Time, where songs of growing pains became something like a pillow fort with a sturdy foundation; a commemoration of what it meant to be disheveled, curious and imaginative in hindsight of everything you now know. Last year, Eva released “So Soon”, the first new Triples track in a a handful of years, offering a blast of both energy and sincerity; returning to the ruckus, where dance parties are scheduled because you know they’re good for you and where laughing so hard you snort through your nose is the most genuine sign of endearment.
About the playlist Eva shares;
I like to take my dog on walks in this big forested park near my house and it’s so sublime in the fall when all the leaves start to turn, the sidewalks are wet, there’s a little chill in the air. When Autumn comes around I always feel more introspective and moody and love to indulge in those feelings by listening to a playlist like this while wandering around Toronto. This playlist is a combination of 90s shoegaze-y songs, melancholy folk, and experimental indie rock that I thought all had a similarly wistful tone that would pair well with a misty fall time moment.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by LA-based artist Izzy Hagerup of the project Prewn.
Following the release of 2023’s debut LP Through The Window, Hagerup has just announced her follow up album titled System, out October 3rd via Exploding in Sound. The music that comes from Prewn is as deliberately harsh as it is instinctively beautiful. Through The Window bound together lush textures and open spaces by building trusting relationships with dissident sound structures and absorbent lyricism. Prewn’s pulse continues to pump with the release of “System”, the first single off the upcoming album and accompanied by a music video directed by Sophie Feuer.
“System” opens like a cold sweat, where thick, briny strings dribble down like beads; dribble farther down your face than you would often allow before wiping away. It’s a moment that feels stuck in time, one that deliberates between peace of mind and a piece of mind that can’t quite fall into place. As the strings begin to take shape, offering a counterbalance to Hagerup’s melodic fortitude, you want to say that it sweeps you up into a dream-like state, but this is real life, and she knows that. The song soon breaks off as Hagerup belts, “just give your life away”, a chorus of searing words that give voice to the internal conflicts between mental struggles and the buttoned-up expectations that are often placed on us. It’s a stunning track that builds upon frustration with such intent as Hagerup’s singular voice becomes the benchmark for retainment and release, slowly bringing us back to that same moment of stillness from which we began.
About the playlist, Hagerup shared;
“Some songs that I’ve come back to again and again over the years”
Listen to the playlist here;
Listen to System here!
System is set to be released October 3rd via Exploding In Sound. You can pre-order the album now as well as on vinyl.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Asheville-based artist Sean O’Hara.
Through all the noise, the loose distortion, the meaningful sonic spells and the interchangeable fidelities that play to their own strengths, the songs that Sean O’Hara offers are grown from an inherent sense of kindness. Where each song becomes a quiet reflection, a still moment that sticks to you like the hair of a dog, where each piece is picked off one at a time with the care and attention it needs. Sean’s debut release under his own name, 2023’s somewhere, was a warm buzz of excitement seared with feelings of longing and intimacy, but before that, he has been sharing music under the name nadir bliss since 2015. His mot recent releases consist of a split EP with Jackson Fig and a bandcamp album titled i don’t want to be alone, a collection of songs about loneliness and self,recorded on a tascam 488 over the span of two years on a farm in Virginia. Keep an eye out for more music to come from the Sean O’Hara camp in the near future.
About the playlist Sean shares;
I have a habit of writing songs with pretty fast tempos. Over the past few years, I’ve made an effort to listen to more mid tempo music to influence my approach to songwriting and try to slow it down a bit sometimes. On that note, I have grown a deep affinity for “baggy” music. It was pretty popular in the 90’s and early 2000’s, coming from the Madchester scene and evolving/mutating over time. This playlist is a collection of some of my favorite baggy beats.
Listen to the playlist here;
You can listen to Sean’s music anywhere you find your music. You can also order a tape of somewhere via Candlepin Records.
Written by Shea Roney | Featured Photo Courtesy of Sean O’Hara
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